Car door



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CAR DOOR Filed Aug. 12, 1931 3 Sheets-Sheet l May 22, 1934.

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CAR DOOR Filed Aug. 12, 1931 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 I Q INVENTOBS I I Wu. M Q wwwwkh y 1934- A. CHRISTIANSON ET AL 6 CAR DOOR Filed Aug. 12, 1931 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 I I T I 1 I I II -1 I 1 I I 7 LH (/31 33 Fr -i 36 III/II 1 i I J 3 .4..

I I I INVENTORS I l M M4 I QWW WM III/II!!! 2% Patented May 22, 1934 UNITED" S TA TE-S PATENT-l OFFICE;

Butler, Pa., assignors,

by mesne assignments,

to Standard Steel Car Corporationof Delaware, a corporation. of Delaware Application August- 12,

3 Claims.

This invention relates to doors, and more particularly to improvements in the construction of fabricated metal side doors for railway freight cars, and to improved: means for moving the door into and out of the door opening so that the door may be flush with the side of the car when in its closed position and to means for locking the door and sealing the door opening when the door is in its closed position.

One object of this invention is tov provide an improved metal freight car door thatshall be relatively simple of construction, relatively light in weight, and easily manufactured.

Another object of this invention is to provide adoor for freight cars fabricated from metal plates or the like, and having novel means of securing the plates together.

A further object of this invention is to provide a freight car door constructed of plates having flanged adjacent edges abutting with each other and the outer edges of the plates shaped to form a groove and having the flanged edges secured together in such a way as to form stiffening members for the door.

A still further object of. this invention is to provide a fabricated metal flush car door for railway cars having means for sealing the door opening when the door is closed.

A still further object of this invention is to provide improved means for moving a flush car door into and out of a door opening.

These and other objects which will be made apparent to those skilled in this particular art are accomplished by means of this invention, one

embodiment of which is disclosed in the following specification and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein;

Figure 1 is a partial view in front elevation of a car having a door constructed in accordance with the invention.

Fig. 2 is a partial view in section taken on line II-II of Figure 1.

Fig. 3 is a partial view in section taken on line IIIIII of Figure 1, and

Fig. 4. is a partial view in section taken on line IV-IV of Figure 1.

Referring to the drawings in detail, 10 designates the side wall of a railway freight car having a door opening 11 therein and a sliding door 12 for closing the door opening, which is flush with the side wall 10 of the car when in its closed position. The wall 10 of the car is only partially illustrated as the details of construction thereof are not believed to be essential to the description of this invention, therefore, only such 1931, Serial No. 556,502"

details of the car wall construction are shown as will illustrate the relation of the door 12 h wall. The construction of the door and the cooperation of the several parts will be described in detail hereinafter.

Adjacent the edges of. the door, an upper door header 13, a lower door header 14, and'side door headers 15 and 16 are provided which form the boundary of the door opening 11 and are a part of the car wall construction. The door header members are substantially U-shaped and are so arranged that the bases thereof define the door opening. When the door 12 is closed the edges of the door engage the upper door header 13, the lower door header 14, and the side door posts 15 and 16 and completely close the door opening 11. r

The door 12 is formed of a series of vertically extending sheet metal sections or plates 17, the adjacent edges 18 of which are flanged outwardly so as to: extend at right angles from the body portion of the sections 17. The flanged edges 18 of adjacent plates are secured together by a member 19 of substantially U-shape which covers the flanged edges and is riveted thereto. The ends of the legs of the U-shaped member 19 are flanged outwardly as at 20 and bear against the body of the sheet metal sections 17. The flanged edges 18 and the covering member 19 form vertically extending stiffening members or stakes on the sides of the door and impart such strength thereto that the need of other bracing is eliminated.

While we have illustrated a door formed of a pair of plates having their adjacent edges flanged outwardly, it is to be understood that the door may be formed of any number of plates fastened together in a similar manner.

The edges of the metal sections 17 forming the door are bent outwardly along the top, bottom, and sides thereof as at 2,1, and are secured to frame members 22 which are substantially U-shape and form troughs or grooves 23 around the margin of the door. The members 2.2 are so disposed that when the door is in its closed position the legs of the substantially U- shaped door headers 13 and 14 and the side posts 15 and 16 will extend into the grooves 23. In order to seal the door opening and to make the same airtight when the door is closed, flexible sealing members 25 are provided in each of the grooves 23, which engage the upper and lower door headers, and side posts and seal the door opening. The sealing members may be made of any suitable material and may be secured in arm 30.

the grooves in any suitable manner. However, I prefer to use portions of rubber tubing as sealing members which are secured in the grooves by bars 26 that extend through the tubing. The ends of the bars 26 may be secured to the U- shaped members 22 in any suitable manner.

Another novel feature of this invention resides in the mounting of the door on the side of the car. As illustrated, the door is of the top hung type and is provided with brackets 2'7 and 28 at the upper corners thereof in which crank arms 29 and 30 are pivoted. The crank arms 29 and are in turn pivoted to members 31 and 32 which are supported by rollers 34 journaled in a track 35. The track 35 is spaced from the side of the car and is secured thereto above the door opening by brackets 36. The door, when in its closed position, is flush with the car wall, therefore, in order to slide the door along the track, the door must first be ,moved out of the door opening until it hangs in a plane parallel with the side of the car. To

move the door out of the door opening, the crank arm 29 has a rod 37 secured thereto which extends vertically of the door 12 and is mounted in brackets 27 and 38 secured to the door. The rod 3'? has a lever 39 secured there- -to for rotating the rod and the crank arm 29,

and consequently pulling that portion of the door to which it is attached, out of the door opening 11.

In order that both of I the crank arms 29 and 30 may be operated at the same time, a gear segment 40 is secured to the crank arm 29 which meshes with a rack bar 41, which in turn meshes with a gear segment 42 secured to the crank The rack bar extends transversely of the door and is held in position thereon by brackets 43.

From this construction, it is readily apparent that when the rod 3'7 is turned, the gear seg ment 40 forces the rack bar to move transversely of the door and turn the crank arm 30 at the same time that the crank arm 29 connected to the rod is turned.

As is readily seen from the dotted line of Figure 3, when the door is being moved outwardly the pivot points of the crank arms on the door moves in a straight line due to the sides of the door engaging the side posts 15 and 16 and, as a result of this straight line movement, the carriages 31 and 32 are moved back and forth in the track 35.

In order that the door may be wedged intothe door opening so that the sealing members 25 in the grooves 23 will be compressed and form an airtight seal between the door and the door headers, a locking bar 45 is provided which extends transversely of the door. The locking bar 45 has eccentrics 46 on the ends thereof which engage latch-keepers 48 mounted on vertically extending stakes or stiffening members 50 on opposite sides of the door opening 11. The latch-keepers are provided with cam surfaces 52 which engage the eccentrics 46, and

when the locking bar 45 is turned, the action of the cam surfaces on the eccentrics wedges the door 12 into the door opening 11. The locking bar 45 is provided with a lever 53 for rotating the bar and moving the eccentrics into and out of the latch-keepers.

A member 54 provided on the door 12 engages the operating lever 53 when the door is locked in its closed position, and forms a means for 'To open the door the lever 53 is operated which turns the locking bar 45 and disengages the eccentrics 46 from the latch-keepers 48. At the same time the member 55 is moved away from the operating lever 39 of the door opening mechanism. The lever 39 is then operated which turns the rod 37 and the crank 29. The turning of the crank 29 turns the crank 30 through the related gear and rack bar mechanism, and the door is moved out of the door opening 11 into a plane parallel to the side of the car. The outward movement of the door is limited by brackets 56 secured to the side of the car below the door opening. When the door has been moved out of the door opening, it may be readily moved along the track 35 so as to clear the door opening 11.

While we have described a preferred embodiment of our invention, it is to be understood that modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit of our invention or the scope of the appended claims.

What We claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. The combination with a freight car having a door opening in the side thereof, of a track spaced from the side of said car and secured 110 thereto above said door opening, a door for closing said opening, crank arms pivotally supported on said track and pivotally connected to said door for suspending the same from said track, means for turning said door supporting 115 crank arms to move said door into and out of the door opening, and means for locking the turning means of the door supporting crank arms against movement and wedging the door in the door opening including a locking bar 1 0 extending transversely of said door, a latchkeeper on each side of said door opening, cam surfaces on said latch-keepers and eccentrics on the ends of said locking bar adapted to engage the cam surfaces on said latch-keepers, and a member on said locking bar adapted to lock said crank arm turning means against movement when the door is locked in the door opening.

2. The combination with a freight car having a door opening in the side thereof, of a track secured to said car above said door opening, a door for closing said door opening, crank arms pivotally connected to said door and suspended from said track, means for moving said door 1 into and out of said door opening including pinions on said crank arms, a rack bar mounted on said door and meshing with the pinions on said crank arms, an operating rod journaled on said door and secured to one of said crank arms, means for turning said operating rod and means for locking said door in the door opening including a locking bar having eccentric latch members on the ends thereof and latch keepers for receiving said latch members having cam latching surfaces.

3. The combination with a freight car having a door opening in the side thereof, of a door for sealing said Opening, crank arms for suspending said door from a track above the door opening in said car, means for moving said door at right angles to the side of said car into and put of said door opening including an operating rod on said door connected to one of said crank arms, gear segments on said crank arms and a rack bar between said crank arms meshing with said gear segments, and means for locking said ANDREW CHRISTIANSON. HARRY T. ANDERSON. 

